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Why so many French children are sent to boarding school

Over 200,000 children attend boarding schools in France, but the experience is very different to the image we may have from English-language TV and film. A government project aims to make them more attractive.

Published: 14 September 2021 16:38 CEST

Why so many French children are sent to boarding school

A boarding student gives a phone call at the end of a school day. Photo: CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP.

It’s not something many people associate with France, but it’s a lot more common than you might think.

For the 2019-20 academic year, 166,000 French pupils stayed at one of the country’s 1,529 public boarding schools – that’s 3.5 percent of all pupils. Approximately 50,000 more attend 600 private boarding schools.

For comparison, there are around 500 boarding schools in the UK in total, according to the British Council, and most of those are private.

So why are there so many in France?

Who goes to boarding school in France

If France is not synonymous with boarding schools to the same extent as the UK, it could be because they mostly serve a different purpose.

Boarding schools played an important role in providing access to education in France until the 1960s, but have since faded from view following a significant rural exodus.

However, to this day, most boarding schools in France exist to solve geographical problems, especially when they offer a type of education that isn’t found everywhere. Many French adolescents live at their school during the week, because it offers the opportunity to specialise in a particular subject which closer schools don’t teach. An agricultural college, for example, or a school which offers a special language or aeronautics programme.

Far from limiting themselves to teaching the classics, boarding schools in France are often geared towards more technical skills. Over two thirds of those attending a public boarding school in France go to a lycée général or technologique (general or technological high schools), while a quarter are in lycées professionnels (technical colleges), and just over 4 percent are enrolled in a collège (secondary school).

A chess game at the boarding school at the Apprentis d’Auteuil-managed Saint-Philippe school in Meudon outside Paris. Photo: CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP.

In rural Burgundy, out of 207 secondary and high school structures (including secondary schools which have a technical college or high school attached), 62 offer boarding.

“In sectors where there is not necessarily an overabundance of schooling options, students are more likely to go to boarding schools,” Christophe Bourse, an adviser to the education officer in the Dijon area, told The Local.

This is often a question of specialisation. According to Bourse, it is more common for technical qualifications such as a baccalauréat professionnel to require students to travel further afield, even if there is a high level of coverage across the region, while others choose boarding schools in order to specialise in high-level sports or cultural subjects such as music or art.

Sometimes, though, in more rural areas, students “choose boarding schools because they’re 30 or 40 minutes away from a lycée, so they prefer to stay there because there aren’t necessarily a lot of trains.”

How much it costs

Contrary to the expensive boarding school fees in other countries, in French state schools, the average family spends around €1,400 per year on accommodation, according to the education ministry.

On top of that, students who already receive a means-tested bourse (grant) are eligible for an additional annual sum of between €327 and €672 to help with boarding costs.

Of course, more expensive options do exist for those who can afford them, such as the Ermitage International School in Maisons-Laffitte outisde of Paris, where tuition can cost up to €30,724 a year for seven-day boarding.

Why the French government is developing boarding schools

The French government is currently in the process of mordernising its boarding school network. 3,000 boarding school places are set to be renovated, while almost 1,500 new places will be created for students by September 2022.

Earlier this year 307 schools were labelled internats d’excellence (excellence boarding schools). These schools offer additional educational support, as well as proposing a strong focus, such as a foreign language or sports programme, or a particular technical vocation. You can find a map of all these boarding schools here.

54 of those school projects were co-financed by France’s Covid recovery plan, which dedicated €50 million to boarding schools, while the rest of the funding came from other sources, notably local authorities.

“We want to be done with the idea of the ‘lycée mobylette‘ [moped high school], in other words, the high school you go to because it’s closest to your home,” Blanquer told the Senate in 2019.

Boarding schools are considered a means of encouraging students, particularly those in rural areas, to make informed choices about their future, rather than choosing a path “by default”.

In theory at least, the government sees excellence boarding schools as a tool of equality. As well as those living in rural areas, the scheme is also designed to benefit students from the quartiers prioritaires de la politique de la ville – “priority neighbourhoods” with high rates of poverty.

Rather than selecting pupils based on grades, priority will be given to students in need of extra help, such as those who “do not benefit from an environment which is favourable towards succeeding in their studies”. This could refer to a family setting or wider social environment which is not conducive to academic success.

A civil servant working on the project told The Local that the more attractive image associated with British boarding schools – partly due to Harry Potter, as well as the uniform and sense of belonging – inspired the education ministry to try to change the way French boarding schools are perceived.

That does not however mean they are about to become exclusive. So the next time somebody from France tells you they went to boarding school, that might not say what you think it does about their background.

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What you need to know if your child is starting school in France

Children technically start schooling at the age of three in France, since attendance at maternelle has been compulsory since 2022. But maternelle is really more like nursery or pre-school with singing, games, teddies and an afternoon nap (for the kids, not the staff).

The jump to école primaire (primary school) is a big deal and it’s when school gets real.

If your children are older but starting in a French school for the first time you may also find the experience and the general schooling ethos different to what you are used to.

Here is what you can expect;

What if they don’t speak French?

If you have recently moved to France and your child does not speak much or any French, they may need extra help. The general rule is that kids going into maternelle (age 3 to 6) don’t get any formal classes because it’s assumed they will pick up the language, but older children can receive extra tuition to help them to learn the French they’ll need for the classroom.

Different areas organise this slightly differently, but the key thing to know is that it is up to you as a parent to contact the education authority – don’t assume that the school will do this for you.

Find full details of how to access language support HERE.

What if I don’t speak French?

If you’re lucky the teacher may speak some English and be willing to help you, but that’s not a guarantee. If your French is very basic it’s a good idea to take along a French-speaking friend for any important school meetings.

Joining the parents WhatsApp group can be a good way to get an idea of what is going on – it’ll be in French but at least you can look up the words you don’t understand. Once your child picks up French they can translate for you (although don’t be surprised if they stitch you up by ‘forgetting’ to translate anything that might get them in trouble).

What sort of school bag do they need?

Most children starting school with a new backpack – known as a cartable.

As they get older, these bags get bigger, as workloads get heavier. By collège (age 11 to 14) or lycée (age 15 to 18), your children may be lugging round several kilos of school stuff. And it may be tempting to get them a wheeled bag – check with the school, first, however. Some don’t allow them.

What clothes do they need?

A few schools in France have a uniform policy. Most, however, do not. It is routinely expected, though, that children are reasonably well turned out, and dressed appropriately for the weather conditions.

From September, pupils will not be allowed to wear the long robe or dress known as the abaya, as part of a crackdown on France’s laws on secularism. Female pupils are not allowed to wear the hijab or Muslim headscarf.

Winter coats: Children still go outside at break time, even in the depths of winter – if it’s raining, they may stay under a covered area, if the school has one, so they will need appropriate warm and waterproof clothing. Be aware that what the French consider ‘cold’ weather might not be the same as your notion of cold, and there will be tutting if your child doesn’t have a coat.

Sports kit: in maternelle and primary school (ages three to 11) sports education in school is pretty basic. You may want to dress your child in more suitable clothes on days they do sport – tracksuit bottoms, as opposed to jeans, for example – but don’t expect them to have anywhere to change.

By collège, you’ll get a list of required kit for sports lessons.

Spare underwear: Little children may still not have a 100 percent hit rate when it comes to making the toilet in time, especially in an unfamiliar setting, so one or more spare pairs of underwear may be an idea. It’s a requirement that children are fully toilet trained by the time they start maternelle, but in reality accidents happen and it shouldn’t be a big deal.

The school will probably have some spare clothes for emergencies, and – at the end of certain school days – you may be presented with a differently clothed child and a small, damp, bag.

It’s good form to wash any replacement clothes before returning them.

As always, it’s a sensible idea to mark the clothes with at least your child’s first name. You can buy name tags online where you can write your child’s name, school and your phone number to increase the likelihood of things making their way back to you.

Do I need to buy stationery?

Your school will send – probably already has sent – you a list of things your child / children must bring in on their first day known as fourniture scolaire. It can be very specific, in some cases down to the preferred make of certain items, or the weight of paper (really). Each teacher may even provide a different list.

Early on, it will include things like pencils, crayons, felt-tip pens, a pencil case, glue, plain paper, a wipe-clean writing slate, and tissues.

Further into your child’s schooling, expect to see a diary and a fountain pen among the items added to the list. The French are very particular about writing – and the pen you have carefully purchased may be held back by the teacher and presented, with a certain amount of sombre ceremony, to the child when they are deemed ready to use it.

You will also be asked to provide cardboard folders, files, clear plastic pockets, and an old shirt to protect clothes during art classes.

Do you need to buy textbooks?

Schools usually supply textbooks. You will be told to cover them. This is not really an early parenting standards test, honest.

Will there be homework?

Officially, homework is not a requirement until collège, but that doesn’t stop teachers from setting some for children in primary schools even from CP – the first year of école primaire.

Will my child need to be vaccinated?

Yes. Before a child starts school in France, parents are asked to provide proof of vaccination, with 11 vaccines now compulsory for school starters.

Children who are not vaccinated will not be fully enrolled in school. Instead they will be provisionally enrolled and the parents will be given three months to have the vaccinations carried out.

Diptheria, tetanus and polio vaccinations have been compulsory for some time, but in 2018 another eight were added to the list – whooping cough, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, influenza, pneumonia and meningitis C.

What food or drink does your child need to bring?

School meals in France are generally of a high standard, and are affordable. You can, if you want, take your child out of school at lunchtimes, or provide a packed lunch.

Some have gone so far as to say that French pupils have the best lunches in the world, with a balanced, multi-course menu offered each day with vegetarian alternatives.

Consider, also, a morning goûter of fruit and a drink; and perhaps an afternoon goûter. Don’t be too surprised, either, if your child starts demanding a post-school trip to the boulangerie for a croissant or pain au chocolat.

Do you need to come for the first day?

Schools may have a gathering of children and parents before classes on the first day back. There may even be coffee. It’s nice, but not compulsory. A parents-teacher meeting may also be organised in the early days, to advise parents about the year ahead. It’s a good idea to go to that so you get an idea of what’s in store, and early warning of any school trips.

Can I sit in with my child in class?

That’s something to check with the teacher, who may or may not be open to the idea. Parents don’t usually sit in with their children in classes because, in France, teachers teach and parents parent – and the two jobs are considered quite separate.

If you are used to the level of involvement parents can have in the US or UK, you may be surprised by how little daily interaction you have with your kid’s French school. At primary schools, the headteacher (directrice for a woman or directeur for a man) often stands at the school gate each morning, in case you need to talk to him or her, but don’t expect regular updates from your child’s class teacher.

A good way of knowing what’s going on inside the school is to become a member of the parent-teacher’s association (a ‘parent d’élève’).

Another way to get involved is to join the parents’ informal Whatsapp group. Ask around during pick-up or drop-off to find out how you can be added to it.

Can I take my child out of classes for holidays?

No… and yes. Sometimes.

Students are expected to attend scheduled classes, unless they have legitimate reasons for their absence – and going on a family holiday outside of the standard vacation periods set by the school calendar does not constitute a legitimate reason.

“It is not possible to envisage à la carte vacations that would disrupt the functioning of classes and harm schooling”, according to France’s Education Ministry.

Religious holidays, on the other hand, are acceptable reasons for a day off, but taking your kids back to the US for Thanksgiving probably would not be accepted.

What about any after-school activities?

On the whole, after-school activities aren’t really a thing. Your school may offer a garderie – which basically involves someone watching your child run around the playground before and after school, so that parents can fit work in between dropping off and picking up. This will normally entail a nominal fee.

Teachers may offer homework clubs, certainly as children get older, so that parents don’t have to deal with it (remember, teachers teach, parents parent).

Remember, too, classes on Wednesday are usually cut short at lunchtime, so that children can take part in extra-curricular activities, such as organised sports.

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